Stimulating active, social interactions for people with dementia is an important and timely challenge that merits continuing attention in design research. The idea of using participatory co-design to engage people with dementia is attracting increased interest. In this paper, we draw on our qualitative study that used a playful, participatory arts approach to explore the ways co-design could be implemented in a group of 12 people with dementia and their carers, and developed practical recommendations, in the form of a set of playing cards, for other researchers and caregivers to work in similar ways. The emphasis is on the value of play and playfulness, providing a 'magic circle' (Huizinga, 1955) that fosters the required conditions for a co-creative, co-design space. This aims to encourage social interaction between people with dementia, to stimulate imagination and creativity; and engage even the most the reticent, less confident members. Our observations, however, suggest that the exact notion and nature of co-design within the context of working with people with dementia is unclear. We critically explore whether such participatory creative practices that engage people with dementia can be considered as purely co-design. In conclusion, we argue that such interaction is better described as co-creation and that this definition can still embrace considerable contribution and involvement by people with dementia in a co-design process.

An increasing interest in exploring how digital innovation could support dementia care has been leading research responding to e-health movements, from caregiving and medical perspectives. Not much investigation has included standpoints of the people with dementia; even fewer are concerned with the emotional side of the research experience per se. The Ageing Playfully project, offered a creative space during a series of playful workshops, where participants by co-designing, had an opportunity to catalyse imagination and social interaction, and reclaim agency in the context of their own lives. The aim of this case study paper, is to open a space for a discussion of transformative implications that this process has on design researchers engaging in the area of dementia. Grounded in these two overlapping creative spaces, a methodology emerged that focused on adding design value to outcomes and to all stakeholders involved along the process. Participating in Ageing Playfully, were twelve co-designers with dementia, two practitioners healthcarers and four researchers from Lancaster University in the areas of design, computer science and health studies. This paper recounts the experience of the design researchers as part of the team and constructs a narrative in which emerging methods together with personal experience are protagonists; a story that offers memories within the forgetful corners of the investigation.

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